This Week in Finance News: 12 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the week's most newsworthy financial industry press releases from PR Newswire, including PayPal's stablecoin launch and updates in job security and 401(k) balances.

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the finance industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. PayPal Launches U.S. Dollar Stablecoin
   PayPal USD is designed to contribute to the opportunity stablecoins offer for payments and is 100% backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S Treasuries and similar cash equivalents. PayPal USD is redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars and is issued by Paxos Trust Company. 
2. Consumers Report Improving Job Security, Healthy Household Finances
   "While consumers are reporting confidence in the components related to their personal financial situations, it's unlikely we'll see housing sentiment catch up to other broader economic confidence measures until there is meaningful improvement to home purchase affordability," said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.
3. Clearwater Analytics Study Finds Corporate Treasurers Predict Interest Rate Hikes
   "Corporate treasurers are naturally keeping their eyes glued on the Fed as inflation continues to be a foremost challenge," said Scott Erickson, Chief Revenue Officer at Clearwater Analytics. "And while the battle against inflation has yielded some positive results and tepid optimism in financial circles to date, with inflation uncertainty still swirling, it's clear that many corporate treasurers expect the Fed to not loosen its grip on controls anytime soon."
4. The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) Increased in July
   July's increase in the Employment Trends Index was driven by positive contributions from four of its eight components: Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find "Jobs Hard to Get", Ratio of Involuntarily Part-time to All Part-time Workers, Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance, and Job Openings.
5. BofA Report Finds Average 401(k) Balances Up Nearly 10% in 2023; More Participants Taking Hardship Withdrawals
   "The data from our report tells two stories – one of balance growth, optimism from younger employees and maintaining contributions, contrasted with a trend of increased plan withdrawals," said Lorna Sabbia, Head of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions at Bank of America. "This year, more employees are understandably prioritizing short-term expenses over long-term saving."
6. Level Up Your Trading: BingX Unveils Advanced Perpetual Futures Upgrades
   "BingX remains committed to providing a competitive edge to our users by continually introducing groundbreaking and professional features that level up the crypto trading experience. All these latest feature launches underscore our dedication to innovation and user-centricity," said Elvisco Carrington, PR and Communications Director of BingX.
7. KeyBank Introduces Products & Services to Help Clients Take Further Control of their Finances
   These enhancements come on the heels of recent upgrades to KeyBank's overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees announced last year to offer consumers more flexibility, more convenience, and help reducing financial stress.
8. Northwestern Mutual's $2.5 million investment in higher education will support 136 diverse students over the next five years
   "Our investment will provide these students with access to education and the opportunity to bring diverse perspectives and contributions to their prospective employers. Our commitment goes beyond financial aid; we offer authentic support throughout the entire process," said Northwestern Mutual Foundation president Steve Radke.
9. Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence Survey: 66% of Financial Services Leaders Working Remote or Hybrid Would Leave Their Firm if Required to Work in the Office Full Time
   The survey revealed that for both men and women, workplace arrangements are top of mind. Flexibility and the ability to work remotely continue to be highly valued, so much so that most leaders say they'd rather leave their job than go into the office fulltime.
10. Stackwell and Fintech in Action Announce Financial Wellness Pilot Program with Spelman College Students
    Beginning this Fall, Fintech in Action will be launching a national HBCU financial wellness tour with Rapunzl Investments focused on education, and investment access through Rapunzl's stock simulator app. In addition, Fintech in Action and Stackwell are set to launch a national student-athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL) program providing financial education to help student-athletes navigate how they can save and invest their earnings to grow that wealth over time.
11. Finseca: Three Tools for Americans Who are Lacking Confidence in Their Ability to Retire
    A recent survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), found that nearly 4 in 10 Americans fear retirement could be forever out of reach. Unfortunately, that number is up nearly 10 percent from just a year ago.
12. Alkami Launches First Engagement Artificial Intelligence (AI) Predictive Model for Financial Services Industry
    The new model—the first of its kind in the industry—combines artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and Alkami's proprietary Key Lifestyle Indicators® (KLIs) empowering financial institutions to identify account holders who demonstrate behaviors most likely to lead to retention and account growth, and increase their engagement with products, service offerings and digital channels.

Read more of the latest finance-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNfinance on Twitter.

Can't-Miss Earnings

In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for Liberty Mutual, Stellus Capital Investment Corporation, and Blue Owl Capital.

Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

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